Safety signal



Feb. 26 y1924.

A. s; JoHNsoN SAFETY S IGNAL Filed May 26. 1920 imm mmm m Patented F 26, 1924.

UNITED 'STATES fPArENrI OFFICE.

ALBERT s. JOHNSON', or OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA. AssIoNOB. 'ro 'ran FLASH-WAY conrOnA'rIoN, A CORPORATION or CALIFORNIA. v

sAErY SIGNAL.

Application led May 26,

i citizen of the United Stau s, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Signals, of which4 the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a safety signal and more particularly to a safety signal to be used or`worn by a motorist. It is an object of the' invention to provide asimple and effective signal device y whichfa motorist can Warn, or announce to, other motorists the direction in which he is about to turn, or as to the manner in which he is about to maneuver orhandle his car.

An object of the invention is to provide a signal, to be worn on the hand of a motorist, w ich will attractthe attention of other motorists when he is signalling to them with his arm or hand. Thedevice is particularly adapted for use at night, in foggy Weather, or in congested traffic, as it is provided with an electric light which illuminates the hand of the motorist and thereby makes it very attractive and conspicuous. With the aid of the device provided by the present invention device, which requires a motorist isable to signal to, and warn, other motorists as to his intended action at night or under severe weather conditions thereby greatly adding to his and other motorists safety.

A particular feature of the invention is the provision of means for controlling the light in the signal so that it only burns when the motorist straightens out his hand, such as when he is signalling to a fellow motorist. This feature of the invention eliminates the necessity of an ordinary switch, or like articular attention for its operation, and a so makes the device economical in its use of electricity.

Further objects and features of the invention Will be best understood from the folloW- ingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention throughout which reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view taken as indicated by line 3 3 on Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed .sectional view taken as indicated by line 4-4 on Fig. '2; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed sectional View taken as in- 1920. serial No. 384,304.'

dicated'byline 5 5 on Fig. 1 showing.k the control mechanism in its open or unactuated A position; Fig. 6 is an enlarged ldetailed sectional view taken as indicated by line 646 on Flg. 1; and Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig.-6 showing th mechanism in the closed position.

Throu hout the drawings numeral 10 des- I kIgnates t e frame or base of the device which is adapted to be secured to, or arranged at, the back of the motorists hand by a stra 12. Strap 12 is carried. in a loo 14 hinge to the base 10 at 13 and is adapte to fit around the Wristso that the base 10 will ybe carried on the back of the motorists hand, A suitable buckle 15 is arranged in the strap 12 in order that it may be adjusted to properly fit around the motorists wrist. The strap 12 is preferably made of leather, although it will be understood that it may be advantageously made of Inanyother suitable flexible materials, such as fabric, rubber, or the like.

A lamp 11, comprising a bottoni 11', a cylindrical side Wall 11b,"and a top 18, is mounted on the base in the manner clearly shown in the drawings. The side Wall 1lb and the bottom 11 are preferably formed integral from sheet metal and the lamp 11 is referably secured to the base 10 by sol er, although it will be understood that v any other suitable means may be employed.

the motorists hand by shining through transparent panels 16 and 17 arranged 1n the side Wall 11b. The transparent panels are preferably glass and there are preferably three of them suitably arranged in the side wall 11h.` The transparent panel 17 is through illuminates the fingers of the hand. It is preferred that the panel 17 be clear or White glass so that Whitelight will be thrown on the motorists fingers. Two v The panels 16 are preferably red glass so 110 varranged in the Wall 11b so that it faces out- 100 Wardly and so that the light Which shines that the light shining through them will be red and therefore attractive to the eyes of the other motorists. It the motorist wearing the signal device holds out his hand so that it is in a horizontal plane, for instance, with the pahn thereor1 facing down wardly, light shining through one of the panels will be visible to motorists to the rear of the wearer of the device while li ht shining through the other panel 16 will e visible to motorists in front of the wearer of the device. As a matter of fact, a motorist wearing the device when holding out his hand to signal will naturally hold it so that it is more or less in a horizontal plane. For this reason, the motorist upon holding out his hand will invariably hold it so that a light is visible to motorists in front of him and to the rear of him. The red light from panels 16 combined with the white light from panel 17, shining upon the fingers of the motorists hand, enables other motorists to clearly and accurately know the direction in which the motorists arm is extended. For instance, when the motorists arm is eX- tended outwardly and downwardly the red light will appear somewhat above the motorists fingers and the motorists fingers will point outwardly and downwardly, while when the motorists arm is extended upwardly and outwardly the red light will appear somewhat below the motorists fingers and the fingers will extend upwardly and outwardly. This is an important feature of the signal as it eliminates confusion of signals by other motorists and -thereby makes the device particularly effec-v tive. Further, by the provisionof the white or clear transparent panel 17 the device can\ be effectively used at night while changing tires or making repairs.

It will be understood that the transparent panels 16 and 17 may be mounted 'in the lamp 11 in any suitable manner. For instance, as shown in the drawings they may beheld between suitable cushions or\pads 19 and in channels 16a (see Figsn and 4). The padsg19 may be of any suitable cushioning material such as rubber or felt and one is preferably arranged at the corner formed between the bottom 11 and the side wall 11b and the other in a groove ormed bythe upper edge of the side wall 11b being turned inwardly and downwardly. The brackets 18 are preferably formed integral with the side wall 11b and are provided to prevent displacement of 'the panels 16.

looking to the rear. In other words, the mirror forms a rear sight mirror which is particularly cheap, convenient and etfective; this makes the device particularly valuable for daytime driving. ln practice the frame 20 is preferably made so that the joint between it and the inwardly turned portion of side wall 11b is a friction joint which allows the frame and mirror to be removed to permit oi" replacement of bulb 22 or to make.

repairs on the inside of the lamp. l

The bulb 22 may be supplied with electricity from any suitable source, say a storage battery, through lead wire 31 and 31. A control mechanism 32 is provided between the source of electricity and the bulb 22 so that the bulb can be controlled by the motorist. The control mechanism 32 comprises a stationary contact 33 and 4a hinged or movable contact 34. The stationary contact 33 is formed at and by the end of' an extended portion or projection 35 on the base 10, as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 5, 6 and 7 `of the drawings.' The movable contact is hinged or pivotally connected at 36 to a bracket 37 mounted on, or secured to, the projection 35 by'bolts 38 and 39. It will b e particularl noted in the drawings that the bracket 3 is separated or insulated from the projection 35 by a layer of insulating material 40. The bolts 38` and 39 extend through the project-ion 35 and the bracket 37 and are riveted or headed over at 44 to prevent them from becoming displaced. Lead wire 31a extends directly into socket Q3 while lead 31 is rovided at its end with a terminal 41 w ich connects tothe bolt 38, as clearly sliwn in Figs. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings. The bolt 38 is insulated from the projection 35 by a sleeve 43 of insulating material while the terminal 41 of lead wire 31 is insulated from projection 35 by an insulati washer 42, interposed between the termina 41 and the projection 35 as is clearly illustrated in the drawings. The end portion of bolt 38 and also head portion 44 of bolt 38 comes in direct contact with the bracket 37 and thereby makes an electrical connection with it. The bolt 39 engages and makes contact with the projection but` is insulated from the bracket 37 by washer 46 and a sleeve 47, as

clearly shown in Fig. 6. A wire 48 which isl connected to the bolt 39 by a terminal 49 extends between the bolt 39, or projection 35, and the socket 23, as clearly shown in the drawings It will be readily understood how, with the construction above set forth, the bulb 22 may be controlled, or turned off and on, Aby movement of the contact- 34 into en agement with or away from contact, 33. en the contact 34 is out of e gement 'with the contact 33, as shown inv igs. 1, 2 and 5 of the drawings, the electrical .connection between the bolt 38 and bolt 39 is broken thereby causing the electrical connection between the lead wire 31 and the bulb 22 to'be broken. When the contact`34 is moved into engagement with the contact 33, as shown in Fig. 7, an electrical connection is made between the bolts 38 and 39 through the contacts 33 and 34, thereby causing an electrical connection to be made between the lead wire 31 and the.

bulb 22 through the wire 48.

In the construction provlded by the present invention the contact 34 has extending from it an arm 50 at the outer end of which is a loop or ring 51. The various parts of the device are so arranged and proportioned that when it is in place on the back of a motorists hand the middle finger of the motorists hand extends through or is carried in rin 51. Further it will be understood how t e construction permits ofv the device being arranged either on the 'motorists left or right hand and hnw it will work equally well on either hand. When the device is in place on the motorists hand and ring 51 around the motorists middle finger the Vcontact 34 may then be moved by the opening and closing of the motorists hand. For instance, when the motorists hand is somewhat closed as in the case when he is gripping the wheel of his machine, the ring 51 is in a somewhatdown position which causes the contact 34 to be out of engagement with the contact 33; but, when the motorists hand is open, that is, when his lingers are pointed straight out, the ring 51 is up thereby causing the contact 34 to engage the contact 33 and make contact. A motorist when driving naturally keeps his hand on the wheel of his machine and thereby causes the contact 34 to be out of engagement with the contact 33. When the motorist is about to turn, or to stop, it is customary, and in some communities compulsory for himto hold out his arm and hand and signal to fellow motorists.

hen a motorist wearing the device provided by the present invention holds out his arm and hand, he causes the contact '34 to bemoved into engagement with contact 33 thereby making contact and lighting 'or turning on the bulb 22. l D

A particular feature o f the invention 1s the construction which makes the light, simple, and convenient for the motorist. The device is particularly simple and inexpensive in 12 being secured to the base 10 by hinge joint`13 and the ring 51 being secured to the base 10 by pivot pin 36 makes the device particularly convenient and comfortable for the motorist by allowing' him free movement of his hand.

It is preferred, although not necessary, that 'the entire device, outside of the mirror and panel 18, be colored red so that 1t w1ll be particularly conspicuous and effective in signalling other motorists. It is also desirable to silver or polish the inside of lamp 11 in order to makethe bulb 22 more effective. Further, it is preferred that a suitable pad 60, say of felt, be arranged on the inner surface of base 10 so that the comfortable to wear.

A fiber disk 61, having an operating handle 62, is eccentrically pivotally mounted at 63 on contact 34.` The disk 61 may be turned in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6 so that it will engage tl e contact 33 when the motorists hand is straightened out to prevent the contact 34 from engaging contact 33.- The disk 61' may be thrown into operating position when the motorist desires to positively-turn the light off.A Further, a hook 90 is also pivotally mounted on the contact 34 at 63. The hook 90 is adapted to be moved to engage, or to co-operate with, projection `91 formed on contact 33to positively hold contact 34 inengagement with contact 33 and thereby cause the bulb 22 to remain device will be lighted. This may be desirable when the device is being used as a trouble` light or lwhile making repairs, etc.

Having set forth a preferred embodiment of my invention I do not wish to limit my-` vself to the specific details hereinabove set forth but wish to reserve to myself any changes or variations that may a pear 'to those skilled in the art or that may all lwithin the scope of the following claims.

Having described a preferred form of my invention, I claim:

1. In a hand signal of the character described, a base and means for attaching the base to the wrist, a member movably connected with the base and having means for 'fil attachment and mounting on the finger so l 2. In a hand signal of the character de scribed, a base, a wrist encircling member' connected to the base at one end thereof, a member movably connected to the other end of the base and having means for attachment and mounting on the linger, so that the base is supported on the hand jointly by the said encircling member and by said attachment and mounting means, a lamp carried by the`base,- a switch operated by relative 'movement of the base and said member, and a circuit including the lamp and switch.

3. In a hand signal of the character described, a base, a wrist encirclingmember connected to the base at one end thereof, a member movably connected to the otherend of the base and having means for attachment and mounting on the' finger, so that thebase is sup orted on the hand jointl by the said encirc mg member and by sai attachment` ing means and said memswitch o erated by and mount-ing means, a 1am carried by the have hereunto subscribed my name this 15th base, a switch o erated by re ative movement day of May, 1920. of the base an lsaid member, and a circuit including the lamp and switch; and means ALBERT S. JOHNSON. 5 to prevent the switch actuating movement Witnesses:

of the said nger mounted member. ROY B. ARMSTRONG,

In witness `that I claim the foregoing I JAMES D. MoADAMs, 

